1. Suffering is perhaps the most common translation for the Sanskrit
word duhkha, which can also be translated as imperfect,
stressful,
or filled with anguish.

Contributing to the anguish is anitya -- the fact that all
things
are impermanent, including living things like ourselves.

Furthermore, there is the concept of anatman -- literally,
"no
soul". Anatman means that all things are interconnected and
interdependent,
so that no thing -- including ourselves -- has a separate existence.

2. Attachment is a common translation for the word trishna,
which
literally means thirst and is also translated as desire, clinging,
greed,
craving, or lust. Because we and the world are imperfect, impermanent,
and not separate, we are forever "clinging" to things, each other, and
ourselves, in a mistaken effort at permanence.

Besides trishna, there is dvesha, which means avoidance or
hatred.
Hatred is its own kind of clinging.

And finally there is avidya, ignorance or the refusal to
see.
Not fully understanding the impermanence of things is what leads us to
cling in the first place.

3. Perhaps the most misunderstood term in Buddhism is the one which
refers to the overcoming of attachment: nirvana. It literally
means
"blowing out," but is often thought to refer to either a Buddhist
heaven
or complete nothingness. Actually, it refers to the letting go of
clinging,
hatred, and ignorance, and the full acceptance of imperfection,
impermanence,
and interconnectedness.

4. And then there is the path, called dharma. Buddha called
it
the middle way, which is understood as meaning the middle way between
such
competing philosophies as materialism and idealism, or hedonism and
asceticism.
This path, this middle way, is elaborated as the eightfold path.

The Eightfold Path

1. Right view is the true
understanding of the four noble
truths.

2. Right aspiration is the
true desire to free oneself from
attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness.

4. Right action involves
abstaining from hurtful behaviors,
such as killing, stealing, and careless sex.

5. Right livelihood means
making your living in such a way
as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.

These three are refered to as shila, or morality.

6. Right effort is a matter of
exerting oneself in regards
to the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and
prevented
from arising again; Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

7. Right mindfulness is the
focusing of one's attention on
one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to
overcome
craving, hatred, and ignorance.

8. Right concentration is
meditating in such a way as to progressively
realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and
non-separateness.

The last three are known as samadhi, or meditation.

The Kalama Sutta

In the Kalama Sutta, we find the Kalamas, a people of apparently
skeptical
natures, asking Buddha for guidance in distinguishing good teachers
from
bad ones, and proper teachings from evil ones. The Buddha answers
in three parts, which are treasures of wisdom. First, he outlines
the criteria we should use to distinguish good from bad teachers and
teachings:

"It is proper for you, Kalamas, to
doubt, to be uncertain.... Do
not go upon what has been acquired by repeated hearing; nor upon
tradition;
nor upon rumor; nor upon what is in a scripture; nor upon surmise; nor
upon an axiom; nor upon specious reasoning; nor upon a bias towards a
notion
that has been pondered over; nor upon another's seeming ability; nor
upon
the consideration, 'The monk is our teacher....'

"What do you think, Kalamas? Does greed
appear in a man for
his benefit or harm? Does hate appear in a man for his benefit
or
harm? Does delusion appear in a man for his benefit or harm?"
--
"For his harm, venerable sir." -- "Kalamas, being given to greed, hate,
and delusion, and being overwhelmed and vanquished mentally by greed,
hate,
and delusion, this man takes life, steals, commits adultery, and tells
lies; he prompts another too, to do likewise. Will that be long for his
harm and ill?" -- "Yes, venerable sir...."

"Kalamas, when you yourselves
know: 'These things are bad;
these things are blamable; these things are censured by the wise;
undertaken
and observed, these things lead to harm and ill,' abandon them. "

Next, Buddha presents The Four Exalted Dwellings or Brahma Vihara:

"The disciple of the Noble Ones,
Kalamas, who in this way is devoid
of coveting, devoid of ill will, undeluded, clearly comprehending and
mindful,
dwells, having pervaded, with the thought of amity, all corners
of the universe; he dwells, having pervaded because of the existence in
it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world, with the great,
exalted, boundless thought of amity that is free of hate or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the
thought of compassion,
all corners of the universe; he dwells, having pervaded because of the
existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world,
with
the great, exalted, boundless thought of compassion that is free of
hate
or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the
thought of gladness,
all corners of the universe; he dwells, having pervaded because of the
existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world,
with
the great, exalted, boundless thought of gladness that is free of hate
or malice.

"He lives, having pervaded, with the
thought of equanimity,
all corners of the universe; he dwells, having pervaded because of the
existence in it of all living beings, everywhere, the entire world,
with
the great, exalted, boundless thought of equanimity that is free of
hate
or malice.

And finally, Buddha reveals how, no matter what our philosophical
orientation,
following this path will lead to happiness, The Four Solaces:

"The disciple of the Noble Ones,
Kalamas, who has such a hate-free
mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a
purified
mind, is one by whom four solaces are found here and now.

"'Suppose there is a hereafter and
there is a fruit, result, of deeds
done well or ill. Then it is possible that at the dissolution of the
body
after death, I shall arise in the heavenly world, which is possessed of
the state of bliss.' This is the first solace found by him.

"'Suppose there is no hereafter and
there is no fruit, no result,
of deeds done well or ill. Yet in this world, here and now, free from
hatred,
free from malice, safe and sound, and happy, I keep myself.' This is
the
second solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) befall an
evil-doer. I, however, think of
doing evil to no one. Then, how can ill (results) affect me who do no
evil
deed?' This is the third solace found by him.

"'Suppose evil (results) do not befall
an evil-doer. Then I see myself
purified in any case.' This is the fourth solace found by him.

"The disciple of the Noble Ones,
Kalamas, who has such a hate-free
mind, such a malice-free mind, such an undefiled mind, and such a
purified
mind, is one by whom, here and now, these four solaces are found."